The second act: An oral history of Glasgow gangs, 1969-2022

Alistair Fraser; Angela Bartie; Kate Wilson

The second act: An oral history of Glasgow gangs, 1969-2022

Alistair Fraser, Angela Bartie, Kate Wilson

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding › Chapter (peer-reviewed) › peer-review

Abstract

‘The Second Act’ is a 8000-word contextualised and analysed life history of a former 'gang member' in Glasgow that I co-authored with Alistair Fraser, a sociologist at the University of Glasgow, with additional input from historian, Kate Wilson. This is an invited piece for the GANGS project, a European Research Council (ERC)-funded research project (grant no.787935), formally titled “Gangs, Gangsters, and Ganglands: Towards a Global Comparative Ethnography” (PI: Prof Dennis Rodgers) and together Fraser and I are representing the UK in this major comparative study. The chapter is based on interviews conducted with one individual in 1969 (by sociologist Gail Armstrong), then in 2011 and 2022 (by Fraser and I) and brings together historical, sociological and criminological approaches to explore the memory and meanings of youth gangs in modern Glasgow.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Gang Lives
Subtitle of host publication	Global Portraits from the Streets and Beyond
Editors	Dennis Rodgers
Publisher	Bloomsbury Academic
Chapter	9
Edition	1
ISBN (Print)	9781350525061
Publication status	Accepted/In press - 2025

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

gangs
oral history
Glasgow
sociology
criminology

Cite this

@inbook{77702d6515d5455f96dae43662c61ff6,

title = "The second act: An oral history of Glasgow gangs, 1969-2022",

abstract = "{\textquoteleft}The Second Act{\textquoteright} is a 8000-word contextualised and analysed life history of a former 'gang member' in Glasgow that I co-authored with Alistair Fraser, a sociologist at the University of Glasgow, with additional input from historian, Kate Wilson. This is an invited piece for the GANGS project, a European Research Council (ERC)-funded research project (grant no.787935), formally titled “Gangs, Gangsters, and Ganglands: Towards a Global Comparative Ethnography” (PI: Prof Dennis Rodgers) and together Fraser and I are representing the UK in this major comparative study. The chapter is based on interviews conducted with one individual in 1969 (by sociologist Gail Armstrong), then in 2011 and 2022 (by Fraser and I) and brings together historical, sociological and criminological approaches to explore the memory and meanings of youth gangs in modern Glasgow. ",

keywords = "gangs, oral history, Glasgow, sociology, criminology",

author = "Alistair Fraser and Angela Bartie and Kate Wilson",

year = "2025",

language = "English",

isbn = "9781350525061",

editor = "Dennis Rodgers",

booktitle = "Gang Lives",

publisher = "Bloomsbury Academic",

edition = "1",

}

TY - CHAP

T1 - The second act

T2 - An oral history of Glasgow gangs, 1969-2022

AU - Fraser, Alistair

AU - Bartie, Angela

AU - Wilson, Kate

PY - 2025

Y1 - 2025

N2 - ‘The Second Act’ is a 8000-word contextualised and analysed life history of a former 'gang member' in Glasgow that I co-authored with Alistair Fraser, a sociologist at the University of Glasgow, with additional input from historian, Kate Wilson. This is an invited piece for the GANGS project, a European Research Council (ERC)-funded research project (grant no.787935), formally titled “Gangs, Gangsters, and Ganglands: Towards a Global Comparative Ethnography” (PI: Prof Dennis Rodgers) and together Fraser and I are representing the UK in this major comparative study. The chapter is based on interviews conducted with one individual in 1969 (by sociologist Gail Armstrong), then in 2011 and 2022 (by Fraser and I) and brings together historical, sociological and criminological approaches to explore the memory and meanings of youth gangs in modern Glasgow.

AB - ‘The Second Act’ is a 8000-word contextualised and analysed life history of a former 'gang member' in Glasgow that I co-authored with Alistair Fraser, a sociologist at the University of Glasgow, with additional input from historian, Kate Wilson. This is an invited piece for the GANGS project, a European Research Council (ERC)-funded research project (grant no.787935), formally titled “Gangs, Gangsters, and Ganglands: Towards a Global Comparative Ethnography” (PI: Prof Dennis Rodgers) and together Fraser and I are representing the UK in this major comparative study. The chapter is based on interviews conducted with one individual in 1969 (by sociologist Gail Armstrong), then in 2011 and 2022 (by Fraser and I) and brings together historical, sociological and criminological approaches to explore the memory and meanings of youth gangs in modern Glasgow.

KW - gangs

KW - oral history

KW - Glasgow

KW - sociology

KW - criminology

UR - https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/gang-lives-9781350525061/

M3 - Chapter (peer-reviewed)

SN - 9781350525061

BT - Gang Lives

A2 - Rodgers, Dennis

PB - Bloomsbury Academic

ER -

The second act: An oral history of Glasgow gangs, 1969-2022

Abstract

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Other files and links

Fingerprint

'Gangs’ stories: Danny’s tales of machismo in Glasgow'

Danny, Glasgow : une adolescence de gangster dans les zones industrielles

Cite this

The second act: An oral history of Glasgow gangs, 1969-2022

Abstract

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

Other files and links

Fingerprint

Press/Media

'Gangs’ stories: Danny’s tales of machismo in Glasgow'

Danny, Glasgow : une adolescence de gangster dans les zones industrielles

Cite this